Yo No Soy Marinero...

I like that song. In case you don't recognize it, it is a line from La Bamba. Translation- I am not a sailor. It continues saying soy Capitan- I am captain. It's kind of funny; Many times, it doesn't feel as if God is there. How can He be Immanuel- when it is hard to see or feel him there? Suffering, pain, tragedy, all are a part of life right? Questions people often ask are why do bad things happen to good people, how can God allow this?

Well, there are a couple of things to remember.

1st: Some important characteristics of God.
You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
Isaiah 25:4
In Deuteronomy, God promised that he would never fail or abandon his people. David in the Psalms, states that "the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me"
The Bible is full of God's promises to be there for us and to deliver us and not abandon us. The final note is that:
"Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8
So the why does it often feel as if God has turned his back on us? Why in our hour of need does it feel that God isn't there or that He doesn't care. Is he or is he not IMMANUEL? Here is my conclusion. We need, I NEED, to stop trying to be the captain and allow myself to be the sailor. God doesn't abandon me; he never has. In fact, I should be dead about 3 to 4 times over. I turn my back on him; I pull away. All those times I could not feel his presence in my life was due to my attempts to ignore Him. The beauty is, he was still there, fulfilling his glory and his will.
"I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me." John 15:15 God is at work, if we want to always know where he is and feel him there, we need to join him in his work, not demand he join in our work.
When you find yourself trying to take control of things, and finding your self frustrated and angry that it is not working out so well, raise your arms high in the air and repeat the following: "GOD, GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE, THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN, AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE".